Dragon King: Throne of Demons and Gods
Chapter 124: A Crown of Ash and Crystal

Chapter 124: A Crown of Ash and Crystal

Bel walked forward, each step slow and cautious. His claws tapped lightly against the cracked ground, his eyes flicking side to side, scanning the ruins around him.

"So? Where’s the host?" he muttered.

He kept moving, weaving through the sand-covered streets, his claws crunching softly.

And then, as he took another step, something shifted.

It felt like his foot landed on a different layer of this world. Like the ground itself had changed beneath him.

A faint ripple spread out from his foot, traveling up, brushing gently across his whole body.

Bel froze.

Ahead of him, the air shimmered. The world... started changing.

Far in the distance, a black spot appeared. Small at first. But it pulsed. Grew.

The air above it twisted, swirling like a dark tornado. Slowly, it stretched wider, the blackness expanding, swallowing everything in its path. Everything, buildings, streets, all faded as it passed, erased like chalk wiped from a board.

Bel watched as it crept closer, the ground trembling beneath him.

"...Ah. So that’s it."

The black grew until it reached and swallowed him whole.

Everything went dark.

Bel blinked.

Everything around him was different.

He stood on a strange, smooth ground, a faint pinkish-purple hue glowing under his feet. All around him was a void.

A swirling void of colors, fading in and out like they couldn’t decide what they wanted to be.

But he wasn’t alone.

Bel’s eyes narrowed, focusing ahead.

Something... no, someone stood in the distance.

A figure about his size, draped in a cloak of shadow. Purple and black aura drifted around it like mist.

It was fully armored, every inch covered in sleek, dark plating. Long grey hair flowed from under the helmet, swaying slightly in the still air. And in his hand... a red sword, its tip resting against the ground.

The figure stared up at the voided sky, silent and immobile.

Then... slowly... he lowered his gaze. And turned.

Bel locked eyes with him as the figure raised his sword and pointed it straight at him.

[Quest: Mark of Destruction]

Objective: Defeat the King of the Titans at the top of the Tower of Ruin and claim his crown to complete the trial.

Bel stared at the message, then nodded once.

He reached into his inventory, pulling out the Void Orb. The swirling mass pulsed in his hand and then shifted, stretching, until it became a black blade in his grip.

Bel raised the sword slowly, pointing it right back at the King of Titans.

For a moment, they stood there, locked in a silent challenge.

Then, at the exact same time, both of them unleashed their pressure.

A massive wave of force exploded outward from both fighters, crashing into each other with a soundless impact.

The air trembled violently, the ground shaking beneath their feet. The swirling void above twisted, darkened, and turned pitch black.

Bel smiled faintly.

"Let’s finish this."

Bel raised his blade, purple aura swirling around it.

The King of Titans raised his sword, the tip gleaming.

The two warriors locked eyes across the shimmering battlefield.

And then, they moved.

Their swords clashed with a sound like thunder.

The ground trembled beneath their feet, the air splitting apart from the force of their strikes. Sparks flew everywhere, each clash sending shockwaves that rippled outward, tearing cracks into the earth.

Every swing was heavy, every block shook the space around them.

Bel gritted his teeth, pushing forward, each strike faster than the last.

[Burning Soul]

A deep crimson light bloomed across Bel’s chest, spreading into his arms as warmth surged into his blade.

The weapon gleamed, leaving burning arcs with each swing, every movement trailing heat in the air.

Bel pressed forward, his strikes cutting faster, harder, each one forcing the King backward.

He slashed down vertically, missing as the King leapt aside. The blade struck the ground with a deep crack, sending a towering column of flame upward in a blinding blast.

When the fire cleared, a smoking crater remained.

Bel advanced, his sword flicking sideways, unleashing a sweeping slash that carved a burning line across the field.

The King evaded again, the fire trailing behind like a wave. Another strike forced him higher, the heat curling skyward. The King landed, calm, his hand raised with two fingers extended in a blade gesture.

Red and blue particles gathered onto his sword, glowing fiercely.

Bel rushed forward, his blade slamming against the King’s weapon.

Sparks erupted from the clash, but this time, the fire vanished on impact.

The particles consumed it instantly, nullifying the flame.

Bel’s eyes narrowed, watching carefully. He pushed again, swinging his hand; another burst of fire streaked out.

The King slashed the air, and the particles devoured it before it even reached him.

Bel’s eyes widened briefly, then his brow furrowed as he analyzed the pattern.

He stepped back, pressing his foot hard into the ground.

The earth cracked under the pressure, a pulse flowing down beneath the void’s surface. Moments later, jagged stone erupted upward beneath the King, spikes aimed to impale.

The King tilted his sword slightly, and again the red and blue particles spread—this time weaving into the stone itself, softening its edges until the spikes crumbled into harmless dust before reaching him.

Bel leapt high, lightning dancing along his blade, his body covering in lightning. He swung midair, unleashing a burst of force that shot forward in a streak of light.

As the arc neared, he flicked his wrist, shifting the lightning’s path to coil behind it, pushing a sudden current forward like a whip.

The King remained still. The particles stretched again, catching the incoming current, twisting it into a spiral that unraveled harmlessly before him.

Bel’s lips pressed into a thin line.

He landed, sliding across the shimmering void floor, blade drawn close, his gaze steady.

It was only the beginning of their battle, but he felt like he shouldn’t keep going like that.

He paused, analyzing. Each strike, every element absorbed, turned, unraveled. He frowned.

Without a word, his blade shifted. The metal unraveled, twisting into a long black chain with multiple jagged edges, pulsing with rising energy.

His aura increased, heavier now, leaking energy from every breath.

The chain slithered out like a living thing, curling around him.

Bel’s eyes flickered, studying the King calmly, then, almost as a thought, the chain spread outward fast, spiraling around them.

"A formidable power," he said, "However..."

The chain whipped forward. Each edge carried a combination of different elements: fire and earth, lightning and water, frost and wind.

Wherever it struck, the world cracked, and bursts of energy tore holes in the void, every impact shaking their battlefield.

The chain circled the King like hunting predators, weaving tighter.

Bel shifted his weight, taking a fighting stance, his fist closing. Quietly, his voice resonated.

"Can your magic move faster than lightning?"

In a blink, he vanished.

A sharp crack split the air as he reappeared above the King, his fist slamming down onto the helmet with raw force.

The impact thundered like a lightning strike, sending the King crashing into the ground in a burst of blinding energy.

The chains followed, burying themselves deep underground. A muffled rumble spread beneath the earth, then eruptions burst upward like detonating mines.

Dust and debris spiraled high.

But through the smoke, the King emerged again, moving swiftly, dodging between two snapping chains.

Bel appeared above him once more, hand resting calmly on the top of the King’s helmet.

This was the opportunity he had been waiting for. He unleashed Frostfire.

A surge of intertwining blues and crystalline light exploded downward, covering the void beneath them in cascading shades of frost and flame, an aurora of destructive beauty spreading wide.

The Frostfire spread across the battlefield, painting the void below in glowing layers of blue and crystal.

Flames hissed at the edges, their glow regular but not fading, crackling softly across the broken ground.

Bel landed quietly at the edge of the destruction, his feet pressing against a patch of ground turned smooth and pale blue, almost glasslike.

He stared ahead.

The flames weren’t dying down.

Instead, the ground beneath them began to crack. Fine fractures spiderwebbed across the crystalline surface, spreading outward. Bel’s gaze sharpened.

"...It’s like... the fire is spreading ice, but at the same time, the ice get destroyed by it," he thought, watching as the cracks deepened. "So this is how it works. Eternal ice and abyssal flame... burning and freezing at the same time. And it looks like it won’t last forever."

But then, the wind shifted.

The flames stirred, rising. Slowly at first, then faster, swirling upward, drawn into a vortex. A tornado of fire spun in the middle of the shattered field, climbing higher, tightening as it spun.

Bel’s eyes widened.

"No way..."

The tornado shrank, spinning tighter and faster, until a silhouette appeared at its core.

The King stepped forward from the center of the flame.

His armor gleamed, but parts of it were fractured, pieces of it turned to the same blue crystal, cracking along his limbs.

Red and blue particles swirled around him like threads, weaving over the damage, stitching him back together.

The broken plates sealed, the cracks vanished under the swirling glow.

Bel’s eyes narrowed as his gaze moved up to the King’s helmet.

The mask was cracked. Beneath it, just for a moment, Bel saw it: a decaying face, red and sunken, a half-rotted visage staring blankly into the void.

Then the helmet regenerated, sealing the broken mask, hiding the face again beneath metal.

Bel’s chest rose with a slow breath. He didn’t speak, but his heart pounded faster.

He smiled.

"Heh... so even this didn’t finish you off."

He clenched his fist, his body emanating more heat.

"I gave up a lot to create that skill," he muttered. "And its first use... is a total failure?"

He took a slow step forward, the firelight reflecting in his eyes.

But instead of anger, he smiled.

"Good. Finally a real challenge."